Hi all. I had the car washed this morning, and the attendant pointed out to me (before the car went into the tunnel) that skid plates on my 2002 2.0L Golf had become dislodged. Rather than driving around with the things dragging on the road, he yanked them out for me and put them in my trunk. There were three pieces, and they're in decent shape.
How critical is it that I go to the dealer and have the skid plates replaced?
Well they perform several functions.
They keep you car a little quieter. They help keep some of the crud under the car away from the engine compartment and they have some effect on the air flow through the radiator and engine compartment. Not having it could be detrimental.
The one function it does not do is to protect your car from road debris and deep snow. For that you need a metal version. There are metal versions available. If I ever see any damage on mine or if I just get board some day, I will likely order a metal one and put it on.
This is one version from one supplier:
Definitely replace it with an aluminum skid plate, either from Diesel Geek or Evolution:
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